Martha Washington Rock: Remembering a Colfax landmark

Martha Washington School, which was located on N. Morton in Colfax where the Colfax High Vo-Ag shop and parking lot are now located, was constructed in 1894 and originally called the North Ward School. The name was changed to Martha Washington School in 1913, the year the rock came tumbling down the cliff face on the opposite side of the river.

Special to the Gazette

Several old stories about a Colfax-area landmark called the Martha Washington Rock have been a part of local history.

This early-day attraction, though no longer in existence today, was well known enough to be featured in stories that appeared both in newspapers and other publications in the early 1900s.

However, because of a natural mishap, this old landmark is almost forgotten today.

The Martha Washington Rock just north of Colfax was a focal point for early day hikers and outdoor enthusiasts.

On the north side of town where present-day Highway 195 begins its ascent out of the Palouse River Canyon, there is a sizeable area that is dominated by a group of jagged basalt rock columns and spires.

On this steep and brushy hillside they are almost out of sight and mind to the busy traffic today, but in a slower-paced era, this huge and fissured basalt boulder would quite easily be seen looming up on that hill.

What helped make it a particularly memorable object was the fact that this rock was balanced on just a small and weather worn pedestal base.

That made this large stone seem like it was almost defying gravity.

That fact would prove to be part of a dramatic climax for the old landmark!

A newspaper account of January 26, 1913, was headlined “Martha Washington Rock Falls.” Details explained, “A sixty-five mile an hour Chinook Wind brought the juggernaut down with a sound like a dozen teams of runaway horses!” The story also told of a shower of debris and rocks that cascaded down on the highway below. Further details added that the broken rock was disposed of by incorporating it into the building of a culvert for a nearby street project. It hardly seems possible that such an eminent landmark that met such an enigmatic end should now be so forgotten.

Concurrent with the early-day fame of the Martha Washington Rock was the importance of another Colfax institution called the Martha Washington School. Located quite nearby on the north plain of the river canyon, it was one of early-day Colfax’s main bastions of learning. A question arises in some minds-a puzzle akin to the old saw: “Which came first-the chicken or the egg?” Or in this case, which name was in use first-the name of the rock or the name of the school?

With the assistance of the staff at the Whitman County Library, we came to the conclusion that the name of the rock had first priority. We further concluded that, with a bit of imagination, the profile of the rock might conjure up an imagined image of the nation’s very first presidential wife. It might also be added that the library archives also provided a picture of the old school building that is quite a photographic trophy in its own right.

Strange coincidences sometimes resurface with old stories like this. Last summer in Fairfield an old family home was being closed out with a huge two-day estate sale. I remembered that a number of years ago the home’s owner and I were looking through some old historic memorabilia. Many years earlier the family had acquired a stereoscopic (3-D) viewer, along with many sets of pictures. There were both local pictures and scenes as far afield as Europe. They were of a professional caliber and processed with the technology for this stereoscopic viewing.

When I reviewed the whole collection last summer, my heart skipped several beats when I came across a wonderful slide scene of the Martha Washington Rock and a panorama of the northern part of Colfax below on the river plain in the background.

Needless to say, this slide set is now in the museum at Fairfield. I hope the several pictures and this story will now help create some special memories for present-day Colfax-area residents.

The 97th anniversary of the fall of the great rock is just about here. If it’s a dark and stormy night-keep alert! You may just happen to hear a dramatic, muffled rumble off in the distance! Not too many of us could relate to the sounds of a dozen horse teams in a runaway; still, imagination can be an exciting stimulant - listen closely!